


The ghosts of tomorrow's world

by Lica_K



Category: Death Stranding (Video Games), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom
Genre: CLIFAN, Cliff and Sam fight the same way in the game, Cliff is still and always will be the best dad, Cliff just wants his bb, Clifford Unger Loves Dylan Ethan Wright, Dylan Ethan Wright Loves Clifford Unger, Dylan and Cliff are ghosts, Happy And Sad Ending, M/M, One Shot, Some scenes related to the game, black cables from Cliff during sex scene, sex scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:00:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25630096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lica_K/pseuds/Lica_K
Summary: Dylan died in the voidout in Manhattan, together with his brothers, and that is why he is now on the beach with all the people who died in this same incident. Before he could join his brothers, something trapped him there, between life and death, as if that something was telling him that he still shouldn't go before he found something. After so long, while he was on a beach of war, things start to look more interesting to Dylan after the arrival of a mysterious military veteran of few words and too handsome to be dead.
Relationships: Clifford Unger / Dylan Ethan Wright, Sam Porter Bridges & Clifford Unger
Kudos: 9





	The ghosts of tomorrow's world

**Author's Note:**

> Basically it is the ghost version of Clifan.

When he opened his eyes he realized he was facing a beach, but it was not a normal beach.The clearest sensations were the sound of the waves and the noise of the sand. It was then that he realized he was not alone. Thousands of people... of all types and ages... walked towards the sea as if it were a procession. And all of them were a cold color. Greyish blue. When Dylan looked at his hands, he realized that he was also the same color.

As if he had heard his name and at the same time not, Dylan lifted his head and looked ahead. Already in the sea, but still close enough for him to recognize, his two older brothers were looking at him. As if they were waiting for him to join them.

In slow steps, Dylan started walking towards them.

However, before he could even put his feet in the water, he started listening to a lullaby. He stopped walking and started looking around for where the lullaby came from, as he was sure he had never heard it before. And just as the lullaby appeared out of nowhere, it disappeared without leaving any indication of having existed.

Dylan felt something cold in his left hand and as he looked down to see what it was, he realized he was holding a chain. It was a military dogtag. It was dirty with black tar and so the only thing I could read was half the name on it. Unger.

Remembering about his brothers, Dylan quickly looked ahead of him and realized that they were no longer there. In fact, there was no one else there. He was completely alone.

When wanting to look at the dogtag in his hand again, Dylan noticed that it too had disappeared. Apparently his color had returned to normal, but even so he still felt as empty as when he woke up on that beach.

Not knowing exactly what he would do now, Dylan chose to walk to the right of the beach and see if he could find whatever he was looking for.

Years later, according to the real world

Dylan was lying on the sandbags of the trenches with his eyes closed while smoking a cigarette. It had been so long since he arrived and stayed on that beach, that he got used to the constant noise of shots and bombs exploding, as well as the smell of all this infinite war. 

Of all the beaches he had visited, he felt that this was where he would find what he was looking for and that's why he had chosen to stay. Unfortunately, until now, Dylan had found nothing but ignorant ghosts, sad memories, war planes and tanks and a gray sky.

It was at this moment lost in his thoughts while smoking, that he felt that someone had just arrived on that beach. At first, Dylan did not give importance to this, because it was not something so unusual, after all people were always arriving at that beach, however he opened his blue eyes when he felt that this person was not an ignorant ghost.

To make sure he was not mistaken, he chose to personally verify who that person was.

The mysterious man emerged from the black water right in the middle of the trenches along with four other ghosts of soldiers. The man was connected to these ghosts with a skeletal face by black cables. He was naked, covered only by the black tar that seemed to exist on everything on that beach.

After fully recovering his senses, the man gave orders to the four ghosts, who obeyed him faithfully. As he stood, the dogtag on his neck swayed with the movement. He had a serious and angry expression as he analyzed his surroundings.

“Apparently I was right.”

Upon hearing the male voice, the man turned his face to the left where on top of the sandbags in the trenches sat a man in military clothes who was looking at him curiously while smoking.

“You are definitely not like any of the others around here.” after saying that, Dylan looked the man up and down and smiled. “Want help finding some clothes?”

The man remained silent, but continued to stare Dylan seriously as if he were assessing whether he was a threat or not. He took two steps towards Dylan and in the meantime military clothes appeared over his skin.

“I see. You learn fast.” put the cigarette in his mouth. “Want to tell me your name?”

For some reason, the mysterious man looked in a certain direction and a gun appeared out of nowhere in his hand. Completely ignoring Dylan, he started to walk at a steady pace in the direction he was looking, leaving the other one alone there.

“Does he not speak or is he just a person of few words?” Dylan asked himself, a habit he eventually acquired after spending so much time alone. “I was definitely excited to finally be able to talk to someone…” he laughed at himself as he disappeared from where he was sitting to reappear standing, where a few minutes ago was the unknown man. “I'm starting to sound like Ryan.” threw the cigarette aside and he disappeared before it touch the floor. “I really hope that he and Amber are not fighting too much in the afterlife.”

And seeing no reason not to do that, Dylan started to follow the mysterious man thinking that maybe today was going to be interesting.

When he finally managed to find the mysterious military man, Dylan couldn't say for sure what he was seeing. The man was sleeping on his feet with his body supported by a huge spider web made of barbed wires. Not to mention the sinister dolls that were hanging around the web. Perhaps the strangest part was that even though he was in that strange position, with his arms raised back, leaning against the web, the man looked elegant.

Dylan approached taking care to avoid the webs, and finally he managed to be face to face to the military man. He moved his open hand in front of the man's face, but there was no reaction whatsoever. The man remained with his eyes closed, like a dead man.

Not sure what the man was expecting, Dylan chose to wait nearby.

The man only opened his eyes when one of the sinister dolls started to make a noise and opened one of its eyes. The military man pushed himself forward out of the spider's web. He raised his right hand upwards and a cigarette was already lit between his fingers.

Dylan watched him curiously. The way the man smoked was so elegant and unique that he was sure he could watch that scene for hours, if possible. The smoke from the cigarette that came out of his mouth as it went up left the gray-brown color of his hair with a unique color.

Just by the man's calm expression, Dylan could tell that he really liked to smoke.

After smoking the second time, the man took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it away so that a long gun appeared between his hands. His expression was serious again when he started walking through the trench, without ever looking in the direction where Dylan was.

However, Dylan didn't feel bad about it. He knew that whatever the military man was looking for was the only thing that mattered for him. Perhaps it was even for that reason that he had decided to appear on that beach. As if death was not going to stop him.

Following the military man, Dylan found out what he was looking for and was surprised to find that it was a living person. A man in strange equipment clothes, with the baby pinned to his chest. Yes, a baby. Inside a kind of yellow pot? Really, what the hell should be going on in the real world to do such a thing?

Before he could even consider talking to the living man, Cliff and his four soldiers started shooting. Dylan was even more surprised to observe the military man's behavior. Realizing that it would make no sense to interfere in that matter, Dylan put himself in a strategic position and watched the fight.

The fight was something very interesting to see, mainly because Dylan could better assess the military man's skills. As for the living man, despite clearly not having any military skills, he was a survivor, so he managed to fight the military even though with difficulty.

When the boy, since he was someone younger than Dylan (although he didn't grow old after he died), finally managed to defeat the military man, Dylan went closer to them to be able to see what would happen.

The military man was lying on the floor looking as if he was unconscious, but Dylan knew he wasn't. The boy approached him cautiously, reaching the point of kneeling before the military man. As if to make sure he was okay. The military man obviously opened his eyes and looked at the boy with a serious expression. And yet, the boy did not move away.

The soldier slowly extended his left hand towards the baby and when he touched the pot, it seemed that he wanted to take the baby and so the boy started to fight with him. In the middle of this fight, the two ended up leaning almost looking as if they were hugging and then... something happened, although it didn't seem to have changed anything.

Then the boy disappeared. Him and the baby. Leaving the military man alone kneeling on the floor. He was clearly suffering. With his head down, his hands on the ground, the mysterious military man began to repeat the same thing, again and again.

“BB… BB… BB…” he spoke in such a sad voice that it made Dylan uncomfortable.

Not knowing exactly what to do, Dylan approached the man slowly.

“BB… This was all my fault.” the military continued to say while looking at his own hands. “All my fault.” he stopped talking when he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he raised his head, he found Dylan kneeling before him. “Who… who are you?”

“Dylan.” he replied with a gentle smile. “And you are?”

“I… I don't remember.” he informed with a confused expression after trying to think. “Have you seen my BB?” asked with concern, not seeming to pay much attention to the fact that he did not remember his name.

“No, I haven't. Sorry.” was the sad answer that Dylan managed to give.

“I have to find him.” he said with determination already getting up quickly. “I have to find him. I promised. I promised to Lisa that I would take care of him.” he started to walk away.

Dylan tried to grab his shoulder, but the military man pushed his hand away and looked at him with a threatening look while holding tightly to Dylan's neck.

“Are you trying to stop me?” the mysterious man asked coldly.

“No.” Dylan responded by looking directly into the other's eyes, not appearing at all bothered by the fact that he had a hand tightening around his neck.

After analyzing Dylan's face, the soldier released his neck.

“Don't get in my way.” was the only thing he said before turning his back on Dylan and starting walking until he disappeared from nowhere.

“It was a pleasure to meet you too, Combat Veteran.” said Dylan, smiling.

As time went on, Dylan continued to try to get close to that interesting man, but was not very successful about it. When the man was not looking for the BB, he was sleeping on top of his sinister spider web. Waiting, maybe for that boy to come back with the baby.

Since Dylan had nothing more interesting to do, he usually sat next to the sleeping man and talked about anything that popped into his mind. His past, his brothers, his work, his passion for technology, his addiction to coffee, the beaches he had already visited and his attempts to sing the strange music he had heard the day he died.

He was sure the man didn't hear anything he said and he didn't care about it, just his presence was enough. Dylan was never the type to talk as much as he was doing in those days, but being dead and spending all that time alone made him change a few things about himself.

“I'm just making a suggestion.” Dylan said as he trained his aim on the wall with a gun. “The next time that boy appears, you should try to talk to him before shooting.” they were now in the sewers of a city in a war that should have happened in the second world war. “Who knows? You can come to an agreement.” he looked at the military man who was still sleeping on the spider web. “He looked like a good kid. Perhaps all of this is nothing more than a disagreement.”

Accustomed to receiving no response from the man, Dylan continued to train his aim until when he was about to shoot, the man who was supposed to be sleeping was actually right under Dylan's crosshair.

“What is your suggestion?” the man asked seriously.

“Fuck!” Dylan cursed, lowering the gun. “I almost shot you!”

“Aren't we already dead?” he questioned coldly.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I want to shoot you.” the gun in his hand has disappeared. “And why are you talking to me? I thought you were ignoring me.”

“I was, but that doesn't mean I wasn't listening.” he replied, taking a step towards Dylan, who was still seated. “You made a suggestion, I want to hear it.”

Dylan stared at him for a few seconds, surprised by the fact that the military was really listening to his words. It seems that he would not stop surprising him.

“Dylan?” the mysterious man called him.

“You remember my name.” he said more to himself than to the man before him.

“You told me.” he replied as if that should be obvious.

“Yes… I told you.” he got up and tried to clean the dirt off his clothes. “But I don't think I was expecting you to remember.” Dylan smiled at the man. “Do you still don't remember your name?”

“Cliff.” he said immediately. “Call me Cliff.”

“Cliff? Ok.” Dylan was smiling even more. “I was saying that I think you should talk to that boy before trying to kill him.”

“I was not trying to kill him.” the military man said matter-of-factly.

“Really? So what were you trying to do while you and your soldiers were shooting at him?” he asked, crossing his arms without believing the man in front of him. “Maybe a different way of welcoming new people around here?”

“He had my BB.” Cliff informed him angrily.

“I know and that is why I am suggesting that you talk to him first.”

Cliff remained silent as he continued to stare at Dylan, probably considering his words.

“Can you talk to him?” he asked in a different tone of voice. More polite and calm.

“Me? Why should I…? No. This is something between you and him.”

“I'm asking you to talk to him in my place.” the two face each other. “Because I know that when I see BB, I won't stop until I get him back.”

“So… you're saying that you will shoot?”

“I will shoot.” Cliff confirmed seriously.

“Fuck.”

“Please try not to say that near BB.”

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Dylan had his question answered by Cliff's gaze. “Fine!”

Perhaps proving that the universe agreed with all that suggestion, Cliff told Dylan that he felt BB's presence on the beach. Following the directions, Dylan walked through the sewer until he came face to face with a man with glasses, looking quite lost, and also holding the BB in his hands.

“Hi?” he greeted in doubt. “You are not the boy who should be with this BB.”

“Oh! You know Sam?” although he still looked scared, the man looked happier. “I'm looking for him, but I am afraid to meet with the soldiers.” while he said that he also looked nervous all over the place. “Sam said that has a crazy person around here looking for this BB.”

“Yeah… And trust me when I say that you don't want to find him while holding this BB. I'll tell what, what do you think about giving me the BB so I can return it to Sam?” he suggested.

Dylan tried to take the BB discreetly, but the man was quicker and pressed the BB against his arms protectively.

“No, I have to take care of BB until Sam arrives.” he said firmly, although he still seemed to be afraid. “And you seem like a nice person, but I don't know you. I don't know which side you're on.”

“I'm not on anyone's side.” he said starting to lose patience with that man. “I'm the go-between, apparently.” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Ah… to hell with it all.” a grenade appeared in his hand and he quickly removed the pin causing white smoke to completely envelop them.

The man coughed several times and tried to cover his nose, but soon ended up sitting on the floor unconscious. Dylan crouched down and looked at the man and then at BB.

“That was easier than I thought.” he commented to himself as he picked up the BB. “Sorry about that, kid. At least no one was shot this time.” the baby looked at him curiously and smiled, putting his hand on the glass.

“Think again, asshole.”

Turning to the direction the voice came from, Dylan found the boy approaching with a gun pointed in his direction.

“Sam, I presume?” he said calmly, not seeming to feel any threat.

“And who the fuck are you?” he said seriously.

“Hey! Don't use that language near to BB!” he exclaimed, seeming to try to cover BB's ears. “You don't want the crazy military to show up here, do you?”

“You know him?” Sam asked suspiciously.

“Well, he's like a neighbor, I think.” Dylan shrugged. “And it's not like we can choose our neighbors... Not that I'm complaining, but… But that doesn't matter now.” and indicated to the BB that he was holding. “Could you give back the BB?”

“Give back?” the boy asked confused.

“Yeah, like when we take something that is not ours and for education reasons we have to give it back to the real owner?”

“I know what the words means! But Lou is not his.” he exclaimed angrily.

“Lou?” Dylan was confused and looked at the BB. “You are not a boy?”

“Of course she is not a boy!” Sam held out his hand to him. “Now give her back.”

“I must admit that your arguments are relevant.” he started to approach Sam while taking one last look at the baby. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lou.” the baby laughed and waved at him. “Do you know how to get out of here?” Dylan asked as he handed the BB over to Sam.

“The last time was when I beat that guy.” he replied, checking if Lou was fine, before fitting into his outfit. “I guess I will have to do the same thing now.”

“I figured you were going to say that.” Dylan started to run a hand through his hair while he thought. “Take it easy with him this time, okay? It's not his fault that he confused your BB with his.”

“Was he the one who sent you to speak to me?”

“Actually, I had suggested that he talk to you, but he said it was better to be me because he would probably shoot first.” Dylan informed crossing his arms. “Good luck, boy.”

And after nodding to Sam, Dylan disappeared.

Inside the top of the tower, not far from where Sam was now, lying on the barbed wire webs was Cliff with his eyes closed. Dylan appeared out of nowhere, sitting at one of the windows.

“I guess that the negotiations did not work out.” said Cliff, still with his eyes closed.

“What can I say? He had very strong arguments.” Dylan leaned forward a little and whispered, placing his hand beside his mouth. “Apparently your BB is a girl.”

“He's not a girl.” he said angrily opening his eyes.

“That's what I told him!” he explained himself. “What are you going to do now?”

Cliff closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, already starting to focus.

“I will take care of you later.” Cliff said before making the barbed wire disappear and he started to fall off the tower and then disappear.

“I think what you mean to say was “Thank you”!” Dylan shouted.

And again, the two fought the same as the last time, although Dylan asked Sam to take it easy on Cliff. It wasn't Sam's fault, after all Cliff wasn't taking it easy, in fact it looked like he was even more motivated to get BB back. Eventually, after a great effort, Sam managed to defeat Cliff.

Seeing Cliff, kneeling on the floor just like the last time... caused a series of emotions in Dylan that he didn't even think it possible to have after all this time dead. The military man looked so tired, so sad and so lost. And just like the last time, even though he knew the danger he was in, Sam knelt down next to Cliff. It didn't take long for the two to fight again, but this time Sam ended up removing the dogtag from Cliff's neck. And for some reason, the two ended up embracing.

Like the last time something happened, even though it seemed that nothing had changed. And then, Sam and BB disappeared.

Instead of kneeling on the floor, this time Cliff got up and stood for a few seconds looking at the place where Sam and BB were before they disappeared. And then he turned his head in the direction where Dylan was.

“You gave him the BB.” Cliff said coldly with a threatening expression.

“I did.” Dylan replied calmly.

Cliff disappeared and reappeared right in front of Dylan.

“Why?” he asked menacingly.

“Because he is alive.” he replied, keeping his eyes fixed on Cliff's. “And we are not.” Dylan stood up and gave the other a serious look. “Or do you really want to keep a baby here?”

“I said I was going to take care of you later, didn't I?” Cliff said after being silent for a moment.

“Yes, you did.” Dylan took a step towards Cliff. “And what are you going to do about it?”

For the first time, Dylan saw Cliff smile. It was not a happy smile, something closer to daring, but it was still a smile. And that surprised him very much. However, not as surprised as he was when Cliff pulled him into a strong, intense kiss. As if he wanted to devour him. Just as Dylan wanted to devour him.

Due to the recent fight, Cliff had his whole body soiled by the black tar that even Dylan could taste the strange thing between their mouths. It tasted like iron, like blood, but cold as if it wanted to remember the fact that they were already dead.

Dylan wanted to laugh at that thought, because it was the first time since the day he died that he felt so alive. Like he could burn with Cliff in the middle of that war without any regrets. At the same time that the two continued to kiss, the ghosts were fighting in that same place and because of that several bombs exploded nearby.

When Dylan opened his eyes again when their mouths parted, he noticed that Cliff had protected him from the fragments of the explosion with his own body. His four phantom soldiers were there too, positioned to protect them.

“Why are you protecting me?” asked Dylan, confused, still staring at Cliff. “It's not like it's going to kill any of us.”

Instead of answering, Cliff brought his hand up to Dylan's face to clean where there were some "bruises" caused by the bomb's shrapnel. Ghosts like them didn't bleed red anymore, it was just cold black liquid.

“Probably for the same reason you didn't want to shoot me.” he approached the other's face looking at his lips and then fixed on the blue eyes. “Can we continue?”

“Will you stop if I say no?” he asked with a cheeky smile.

Cliff smiled back and moved closer to Dylan, but instead of kissing him, he went to whisper in his ear.

“No. Because I know that you want me as much as I want you.” and after saying that he started kissing Dylan's neck until the moment he started biting him as if he were hungry.

Dylan closed his eyes and clung tightly to Cliff's clothes and hair.

Even though they were not too concerned with the fight that continued to take place where they were, probably not to be interrupted a second time, Cliff made them disappear from there to reappear at the top of the tower over his barbed wire cobwebs. Because of his own weight and the weight of Cliff's body on him, Dylan felt the sharp parts of the wire pierce several parts of his body, but he didn't care.

The two continued to kiss and touch each other with intensity, hunger and purely at the mercy of their instincts. It was known to both that they could just make their clothes disappear if they wished, but they did not want to let this experience pass. Especially Cliff, who made his sinister dirty black tar cables come slowly through Dylan's clothes, making him shiver with the cold liquid.

With some violence and haste, the cables began to tear Dylan's clothes at the same time as he removed Cliff's clothes, piece by piece. Although their skins are touching now, they did not feel the human warmth that they once had, but inside of them a strength of will grew so great that it gave the impression that they burned inside.

After being able to tear most of the clothes, the cables started to curl up his legs, his arms, his belly and even passed lightly over his hard member, as a kind of provocation. Dylan groaned angrily, holding Cliff's gray-brown hair tighter. Cliff responded to this gesture by sucking harder on Dylan's left nipple, making him bite his lip and bleed the black liquid out of his mouth.

The sound of the battle continued to occur outside, with all its shots, screams of the ghosts and explosions that made the place where they were shaking. If that was of any use it was to make that act even more intense and addictive. As if that could be the last thing they would do in this life.

Now that his body was as dirty with black tar as Cliff's, Dylan felt pleasant shivers every time their skin touched. He knew he must feel awkward or at the very least uncomfortable with all those cables around him, but to Dylan it felt like a rather macabre and comfortable hug at the same time. Because they were part of Cliff's will, so why would he reject it? He accepted every touch, every bite, every kiss and anything else that Cliff was willing to give him.

Dylan had never before felt so wanted and loved as he did at that moment. The love that his brothers gave him could not be compared to that, because they were family. It was a different type. Being wanted and loved by Cliff was as if someone finally accepted him completely. Something that Dylan thought was impossible. Until now.

After exploring, kissing and biting most of Dylan's body, Cliff kissed him hungry again on the mouth at the same time as one of the cables wet with black liquid began to prepare Dylan's entrance. Upon feeling the penetration, Dylan ended up biting Cliff's lips and then licking and sucking on the black liquid.

“Don't stop.” Dylan pleaded or ordered in a tone filled with emotions.

“I don't intend to.” Cliff responded seriously, but also in a more emotional voice.

“Good.” was what he said smiling and pulling the other for a kiss where he intended to explore Cliff's mouth with his tongue.

Before he could even get used to the cable inside of him, another cable started to penetrate him making Dylan catch his breath while he scratched Cliff's back hard. As if that was not enough, he also bit Cliff's neck to show how much it was all making he lose his head.

The back and forth movement of the cables inside of him made Dylan start to moan loudly. Not accepting to be the only one there to receive stimuli, he moved his arm still wrapped in cables to be able to wrap his fingers over Cliff's member, which was as hard as his.

“If you don't hurry to fuck me, I am going to make you came only with my hand.” Dylan said a little breathlessly, but hard enough to show that he was not interested in getting to the ecstasy with the cables alone.

“This is very bold of you.” Cliff countered looking intently into Dylan's eyes. “Do you think you are capable of doing that?” asked clearly challenging him.

“Do you really want to find out?” he said also in a defiant tone.

In response, the two cables that were inside Dylan came out making him close his eyes with the sudden movement. Cliff withdrew Dylan's hand over his member and intertwined their fingers while he started kissing the other's neck. Without warning, Cliff's hard cock penetrated Dylan in one swift movement. Thanks to the preparation of the cables, this movement was not painful, but unexpected and very welcome. Feeling Cliff inside him made Dylan lose track of everything, even his thoughts.

Gradually their bodies began to move in sync until they reached the point that the movements of coming and going were all they needed to continue to exist at that moment. To Dylan's surprise, tears started to trickle down his eyes. Tears of happiness and all the emotions he felt at that moment. When he felt Cliff's fingers run across his face in order to wipe away the tears, Dylan slowly opened his eyes and realized that Cliff was also crying before he kissed him.

To gain more access, the cables on Dylan's legs opened him further causing Cliff's movements to intensify. Dylan was sure that if he were still alive he would die with the intensity of it all. And it would be a good death. Dylan knew he was almost at his limit, mainly because some of the cables decided to wrap his hard member and move it at the same pace as Cliff penetrated him. But what made him harder was the fact that he felt the pre come of Cliff inside of him.

When he finally felt his ecstasy at the same time as Cliff, Dylan clung to the other's hair as he felt his insides envelop his member and also the liquid spreading inside him. Dylan's semen spread between their bellies and over the black cables that still wrapped around his member. Their breaths were completely irregular and they felt it on each other's skin since their faces were practically glued to each other's bodies.

The two stayed in that position for a few minutes, until Cliff slowly and carefully removed his member from inside Dylan. The youngest did not like this, as he ended up feeling emptiness, but soon he left that thought aside when he felt Cliff's arms wrap him in a loving and selfish embrace. Most of the cables were gone, but there were still two that also possessively wrapped him up to bring him closer to Cliff.

Neither said anything, as they felt they didn't need to. The fact that they were naked didn't bother them either when they closed their eyes hugging each other. The presence of the other close was more than enough for they to fall asleep even with the noise of war outside.

While sleeping, Dylan heard a lullaby. The same one he had heard the day he died. The one that would take him to whatever he was looking for. However, when he woke up and the lullaby disappeared as if it had never existed.

“Sleep well?”

On hearing Cliff's voice, Dylan noticed that they were no longer at the top of the tower over the wire webs. Dylan had his head in Cliff's lap, who was sitting on the grass with his back against a tree. Both were dressed in their respective clothes. All the black liquid was gone.

“Where are we?” Dylan asked confused with all the silence and calm of that place.

“We are still on the same beach.” Cliff informed him, running his hand absently through Dylan's hair. “This was the only place I could find far from the war.” he closed his eyes as if he were breathing air for the first time. “But it won't take long for all of this to burn with fire.”

“And that make you sad?” asked Dylan worriedly.

“It doesn't make me happy.” Cliff lowered his head so he could face Dylan. “Not like you.”

“I thought you were mad at me.” he said in a teasing tone, but smiling.

“I was.” Cliff confirmed. “But that was before.”

After hearing his words, Dylan was silent thinking about something.

“So... are you basically saying you will forgive me for anything I do if we have sex?”

“Don't start having ideas, Dylan.” he spoke seriously, but he was smiling. “You know it wasn't just about sex.” their eyes met. “It was the first time since I came to this beach that I felt... so alive.”

“I felt the same way.” he said holding Cliff's hand, before sitting down. “But that doesn't change the situation we are in.” he bit his lip, as if he didn't want to speak the next words. “We are still dead. You will still look for BB. And I'm stuck on that beach until I find what I'm looking for.”

“What are you looking for?”

“That is the problem.” Dylan smiled sadly. “I don't know.” he took a deep breath and started looking around them. “All I have are clues. Bad clues.” Dylan looked at Cliff again. “So you will probably resolve your unfinished business first and I will continue to wait on this beach.”

“I will not leave this beach without you.” Cliff said with determination and seriousness, holding Dylan's hand firmly.

“This may not be your decision to make.” he informed sadly.

“I don't care. I will not leave you alone in this beach.” he insisted while placing his hand on the other's face. “I promise.”

“Well, we'll have to wait and see, right?” Dylan said in a more animated tone and with a smile, while placing his hand over Cliff's still on his face.

Some time later, between the time they spent together on the battlefields and Cliff's solitary walks, one day Dylan couldn't find Cliff anywhere. In the last place he knew for sure that Cliff had been, it had only the remains of his barbed wire webs and the damn sinister doll. With an expression of distaste, Dylan took the doll and studied it. He realized that in addition to it having the function of notifying Cliff when Sam was around, the doll was also connected to a beach.

“Motherfucker.” he swore angrily, already about to break the doll into thousands of pieces until an idea came to mind.

Dylan used the doll to go to the other beach where Cliff was most likely.

Once there, he recognized that it was the beach of the woman in the red dress he had seen before, a long time ago. The funny thing is that Cliff and the woman in the red dress weren't the only people there. It felt more like a strange family reunion. A man in a black mask, an older woman in a white dress and Sam.

Dylan was not surprised that Sam was there, as he would be the only reason Cliff left the other beach. However, he was not expecting Cliff and the black-masked man to be old acquaintances. For some reason, it made him very angry.

Seeing no reason to remain there, Dylan returned to the other beach.

Cliff returned while Dylan was very angry shooting several glass bottles he had found in the middle of the battlefield. Dylan continued to shoot, even after feeling the other's presence behind him.

“I suppose you were unable to get BB again.” he said coldly and nonchalantly.

“You're mad.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Dylan kept shooting.

“Did you really think I wouldn't come back?” Cliff asked looking hurt.

“I think you will disappear when you find your kid!” finally he turned and faced Cliff with an angry and hurt expression. “Promise or not, Cliff, you will find your son and leave me alone here!” after shouting this, he hit the floor in front of Cliff the sinister doll all broken.

The two face each other for several minutes until Cliff started walking towards Dylan who pointed the gun at him, making him stop.

“Don't.” it was the only thing he said, as a warning.

When Cliff continued to walk towards him, Dylan shot him in the shoulder, making him feel the impact of moving his shoulder back. Even after taking this shot and all the next shots that Dylan shot, Cliff continued to walk towards him. When the bullets ran out, Dylan threw the gun away and walked over to Cliff to punch him, but was unable to do so when the other hugged him.

“You can't do this to me.” he whispered as he tried to get out of Cliff's embrace. “You can't make me fall in love with you and then disappear and leave me alone.” he beat Cliff with a fist. “If it was to be like this... I wish I never met you.”

“Don't say that.” Cliff asked in a sad tone.

“Why? Is the true.” Dylan insisted, ignoring the tears that fell from his eyes.

“I am not going to leave you.”

“So... what are you going to do when you find him? Your son.” Dylan asked with his face resting on Cliff's shoulder.

Cliff was silent for a moment while still hugging Dylan.

“I don't know.” Cliff replied sincerely. “I still don't have all my memories back, but… I made a promise to you.” he closed his eyes and kissed Dylan's head. “And I will keep it. No matter what.”

“I will kill you if you don't keep it.” Dylan threatened him and Cliff laughed at that.

“You can kill me as many times as you want.” Cliff pushed Dylan away enough so that they could face each other and that he could hold his face with his hands. “I wouldn't stop you even if I could.” and after saying that, he leaned forward and kissed him.

It didn't take long for Sam to appear on that beach again, especially since Cliff said he had stolen the black mask. Dylan didn't like the mask at all, but if it would help Cliff, he chose not to say anything. Both Cliff and Dylan felt that this was going to be the last time Cliff would fight Sam.

The two said goodbye before Cliff got on a helicopter, probably from the time of the war against Vietnam. Dylan talked to the four ghost soldiers, much to Cliff's surprise.

“Harry, Michael, Jason and Bill.” the four skeletal faces looked at Dylan. “You guys take care of Cliff, okay? I want him to come back in one piece.” as they clearly could not speak, they saluted Dylan before heading to the helicopter.

“You gave them names?” Cliff asked smiling.

“Try to stay stuck on this beach for as long as I did and then tell me if you wouldn't do the same thing.” as he said this, he also checked that Cliff's military clothing was properly fitted. “I gave names to all the ghosts on this beach.”

“Later you have to tell me about it.” said Cliff, laughing.

“Yeah.” their eyes met. “Later.”

They continued to watch each other in silence, until Dylan pulled him by the clothes for a kiss and then pushed him away, telling him to go. Cliff smiled and turned away, starting to approach the helicopter until he stopped. He disappeared and reappeared right in front of Dylan to kiss him deeply. Only when the two were satisfied with the kiss did they separate.

“I love you, too.” said Cliff before putting the black mask over his face and disappearing to reappear inside the helicopter that has already started to fly.

Dylan wanted to see what the fight was going to be like, but he thought it should be something just between those two, so he chose to stay out and wait. He would wait forever for Cliff if that was necessary.

It was then that he suddenly started listening to that lullaby. So clearly it could think it was someone singing nearby. Dylan got up and started to follow the music.

To his surprise, the lullaby took him over to where Cliff and Sam were.

And for the first time, Cliff and Sam were actually talking.

“BB… We´re getting out of here. I promise.” as always, Cliff only had eyes for BB. He tried to get the BB, but Sam took it out of his reach. “Give me back my baby.” if eyes could kill, Cliff's would definitely have hurt Sam.

“Are you Clifford Unger?”

The words that Sam say was so revealing that Dylan had to lean on the nearest tree.

“Who are you…?” Cliff asked with an expression so sad and lost that Dylan felt his heart ache at the sight of it.

“Are you the father?” Sam asked in a gentle tone.

To everyone's surprise, BB, Lou started to cry.

And then, Cliff started to whistle. He started to whistle that lullaby.

Sam, too, whistled the same tune.

The sound of Lou's cheerful laughter made the three men look at her with affection.

Cliff closed his eyes and sighed tiredly before starting to speak.

“They told me your name was Sam Porter…” he looked up and looked at Sam. “... but you are Sam Bridges. My bridge to the future.” with difficulty, Cliff got up from the ground and started picking up his dogtag. “Sam. You bring people together. You´re their bridge to the future.” and after saying that he offered the dogtag to Sam. “Come on, Sam. Stand up.”

Sam despite not taking his eyes off Cliff, he seemed a little confused about all of this, but he stood up and let Cliff put the dogtag around his neck. He even went so far as to give Lou for Cliff to hold. Cliff held the baby very carefully and watched her with a loving, kind look before giving it back to Sam.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Cliff approached Sam and hugged him lovingly. His military clothes disappeared, as did the black liquid. Cliff now wore casual clothes.

A gunshot sound was heard and Cliff disappeared.

Sam, as confused as Dylan, started looking around as if Cliff could still be around, but when he realized that this was not the case... he looked at Lou.

“Sam.”

Sam, startled, looked at Dylan who was approaching slowly.

“Can I see the dogtag before you leave?” Dylan asked gently, extending an open hand to Sam.

Sam blinked several times before pinning Lou to his outfit and taking the dogtag to put in Dylan's hands. Dylan held the dogtag as if it were a precious thing and finally read to the words that were written on it.

“Unger. Clifford Unger.” he said smiling with tears in his eyes. “Of course it was him.”

“Do you know who he is?” Sam asked when he got the dogtag back.

“I do.” Dylan replied smiling at Sam. “But so do you.” and disappeared in front of Sam.

Dylan ended up finding Cliff under the sand in front of the gray sea that now showed a beautiful and sad sunset. Just like the last time he saw him, he was dressed in casual clothes. Just like Dylan, who was slowly approaching.

“Did you find what you were looking for, Dylan?” Cliff asked, still keeping his eyes on the sea and sunset.

“I did.” Dylan stopped beside Cliff and also looked at the sunset. “It was so obvious that I really don't know how I didn't realize it sooner.”

“I know how you feel.”

“What now?” he asked, turning his face to Cliff. “It seems that all the beaches are connected and are about to be destroyed. Along with the real world and everyone who lives there.”

“Yes, is what it seems.”

“You don't look worried.” he commented in a dubious tone.

“I am not.” Cliff looked at Dylan.

“You think he will save the world?”

“I know he will.”

“Have you already said goodbye to him?”

Cliff smiled a little sadly and looked back to the sea.

“There is one more memory missing. After that... It will be just you and me.”

“Promise?” he asked, interlacing his fingers with Cliff's.

“I promise.” he said firmly, just as he pressed Dylan's hand against his.


End file.
